A vehicle may be designed to provide a driver with a high level of performance. The high level of performance may be achieved by turbocharging the engine, supercharging the engine, or selecting cams and other components that may provide efficient air induction. On occasion, the vehicle's owner may wish to loan out the vehicle and limit the vehicle's performance. One way of limiting performance for a loaned out vehicle is to provide different keys for different levels of desired vehicle performance. For example, a first key may be provided for a standard or lower level of vehicle performance. The first key may include a first set of engine and/or transmission control parameters that limit vehicle performance, or the first key may transmit a code that instructs an engine controller to select the first set of engine and/or transmission control parameters with which to operate the vehicle. A second key, similar to the first key, may transmit a set of higher performance level (e.g., race track performance) control parameters or a code that instructs the engine controller to select the second set of engine and/or transmission control parameters with which to operate the vehicle in a higher performance mode.
Some vehicle manufacturers have designed alternative ways to start a vehicle that do not require a key with a blade that is inserted into keyway of a lock. Rather, the key and blade are replaced by a bladeless key fob. The key fob may be detected upon the key fob entering a vehicle's cabin where signals may be transmitted between the key fob and an engine or vehicle controller. If a first key fob is programmed to provide an indication for operating the vehicle with a standard or lower level of vehicle performance and a second key fob is programmed to provide an indication for operating the vehicle with a higher level of performance, the engine or vehicle controller may not be able to decide whether to operate in the standard performance mode or higher performance mode when both the first and second key fob are within the vehicle's passenger cabin.
The inventors herein have recognized the above-mentioned disadvantages and have developed a method for selecting vehicle performance, comprising: selecting a first vehicle performance level and operating a vehicle at the first vehicle performance level in response to a key fob being within a vehicle cabin and outside of a key fob holder; and selecting a second vehicle performance level and operating the vehicle in at the second vehicle performance level in response to a key fob being within the key fob holder.
By only selecting a higher vehicle performance level in response to a key fob being placed into a key fob holder, a vehicle controller may reserve a higher level of vehicle performance based on a qualified key fob being placed in a key holder. Otherwise, the controller may default to a lower level of vehicle performance when one or more key fobs are within a vehicle cabin, but not in the key fob holder. In this way, a driver may positively select a vehicle's performance mode based on whether or not the driver chooses to place a high performance qualified key fob (e.g., key fob that carries or broadcasts a token to permit the higher level of vehicle performance) that has been assigned to the vehicle in the vehicle's key fob holder. The standard level of vehicle performance may be provided when the qualified key fob or a key fob assigned to the vehicle but not qualified to enable the higher vehicle performance level are outside of the key fob holder.
The present description may provide several advantages. Specifically, the approach may allow a vehicle owner to selectively provide authorization to enable a higher level of performance in a vehicle. Additionally, the approach may avoid confusion between selecting different vehicle operating modes when key fobs programmed to authorize different levels of vehicle performance are simultaneously present in a vehicle's cabin. Further, the approach provides a definitive way for selecting a higher vehicle performance level.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.